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UK air traffic movements in November down 0.5% on 2009

23 December 2010

NATS, the UK’s leading air traffic services provider, today released figures showing a 0.5% decline in air traffic movements in UK airspace in November 2010, compared with November 2009. The total number of flights handled by NATS last month was 158,559; last year the figure for November was 159,428.

This figure was influenced by bad weather conditions at the end of November that caused many airports to be closed and flights cancelled. Industrial action by French air traffic controllers on 6th November caused cancellations and delays to flights to and from France.

The transatlantic picture was more positive, with growth in arrivals and departures of 5.2% while overflights increased by 8.9% on the previous year.

Nov 2010

Nov 2009

% gr

2010 to Date

2009 to Date

% gr

UK FLIGHTS

158,559

159,428

-0.5%

1,962,001

2,045,441

-4.1%

CENTRES

Swanwick

135,041

135,568

-0.4%

1,694,500

1,765,672

-4.0%

Prestwick

66,496

67,273

-1.2%

804,719

857,848

-6.2%

London Area Control

128,066

127,668

0.3%

1,615,888

1,678,294

-3.7%

London Terminal Control

92,370

94,007

-1.7%

1,119,566

1,167,019

-4.1%

Manchester Area Control Centre

33,992

35,245

-3.6%

422,646

456,673

-7.5%

Scottish Area Control Centre

42,323

42,513

-0.4%

490,568

518,240

-5.3%

Oceanic Area Control Centre (Shanwick)

30,250

27,959

8.2%

358,416

361,319

-0.8%

MARKET

Transatlantic Arrivals/Departures

9,672

9,191

5.2%

111,501

114,068

-2.3%

Transatlantic Overflights

14,457

13,278

8.9%

172,384

173,369

-0.6%

Other Arrivals/Departures

93,598

94,682

-1.1%

1,204,032

1,251,831

-3.8%

Other Overflights

6,993

7,112

-1.7%

90,563

99,663

-9.1%

Domestic

33,482

34,854

-3.9%

378,179

402,395

-6.0%

Notes to Editors:

NATS handled 2.2 million flights in the 2009 calendar year, covering the UK and eastern North Atlantic, and carried more than 200 million passengers safely through some of the busiest and most complex airspace in the world.

NATS provides air traffic control from its centres at Swanwick, Hampshire and Prestwick, Ayrshire.

NATS also provides air traffic control services at 15 of the nation’s major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow, together with air traffic services at Gibraltar Airport.